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A New Karst-Dwelling Bent-Toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Xiangkhoang Province, Northeastern Laos

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A New Karst-Dwelling Bent-Toed Gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Xiangkhoang Province, Northeastern Laos ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCH A new karst-dwelling bent-toed gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Cyrtodactylus) from Xiangkhoang Province, northeastern Laos Roman A. Nazarov1,*, Olivier S.G. Pauwels2, Evgeniy L. Konstantinov3, Anatoliy S. Chulisov3, Nikolai L. Orlov4, Nikolay A. Poyarkov, Jr.5,6,* 1 Zoological Museum, Moscow State University, Moscow 125009, Russia 2 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels B-1000, Belgium 3 Institute of Natural Sciences, Kaluga State University named after K.I. Tsiolkovskii, Kaluga 248023, Russia 4 Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia 5 Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119234, Russia 6 Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center, 63 Nguyen Van Huyen Road, Nghia Do, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam ABSTRACT (Nguyen et al., 2017). Although Laos is located between these We describe a new karst-dwelling Cyrtodactylus from two species-rich countries and harbors a varied geological relief propitious to micro-endemism, its Cyrtodactylus fauna is currently Ban Thathom, Xiangkhoang Province, northeastern known to include only 21 species (Luu et al., 2016a; Nazarov et Laos. The new species can be distinguished from al., 2014). Such low species number may be due to the fewer other congeners by having four dark dorsal bands herpetological surveys conducted in Laos compared to Vietnam between limb insertions, a discontinuous nuchal loop, and Thailand, particularly on the karst reliefs (Teynié & David, 10 precloacal pores in males or 10–12 precloacal pits 2014). (females) separated by a diastema from a series of Our team co-described five of the Cyrtodactylus species currently recorded from Laos (Nazarov et al., 2014; Ngo & enlarged femoral scales bearing 18 or 19 pores (male) Pauwels, 2010), and we are pursuing our efforts to better or 8–10 pits (females) along each femur, 14–18 dorsal inventory the diversity of the genus in this country. tubercle rows at midbody, no precloacal groove, 30–36 During fieldwork in the forested karst massifs in the Laotian midbody scale rows across belly between ventrolateral province of Xiangkhoang, we (A.S.C. and E.L.K.) encountered skin folds, transversely enlarged subcaudal plates, and three geckos that differed in color pattern and scalation from known species, and which we show hereafter to belong to a maximal known snout-vent length of 75.5 mm. Our an undescribed species. Morphological characters, such as description brings to 22 the number of Cyrtodactylus species recorded from Laos. Keywords: Indochinese region; Karst; Limestone; Received: 03 September 2017; Accepted: 19 March 2018; Online: 20 Herpetology; Taxonomy; New species April 2018 Foundation items: The work was partially supported by the INTRODUCTION Russian Foundation of Basic Research (RFBR 15-04-08393; RFBR The diversity of the gecko genus Cyrtodactylus has increased at 15-29-02771; RFBR 17-54-54002_viet_a; RFBR 18-04-00040); a phenomenal rate. Of the more than 250 species recognized Preservation and storage of specimens was carried out with financial within the genus, about 80% of the diversity has been described support from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF 14-50-00029). in the twenty-first century (Uetz et al., 2018). Numbers of The research was completed within the frameworks of Russian State Cyrtodactylus species in Thailand and Vietnam have shown projects AAAA-A16116021660077-3 and AAAA-A17-117030310017-8 considerable expansion, including at least 33 and 39 recognized * species in each country, respectively (Pauwels et al., 2016). Corresponding authors, E-mail: [email protected]; n.poyarkov@ Moreover, several species remain to be named in Vietnam, in gmail.com particular within the Cyrtodactylus irregularis species complex DOI: 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2018.010 202 Science Press Zoological Research 39(3): 202–219, 2018 scalation and dorsal color and pattern, indicate that this Morphological descriptions newly discovered Cyrtodactylus population clearly belongs to Measurements and meristic counts follow Pauwels et al. the C. phongnhakebangensis species group sensu Luu et (2016). Measurements were taken on the right side. Paired al. (2016a), which includes a dozen species from Laos and meristic characters are given in left/right order. Numbers Vietnam. In agreement with the definition of this group provided of supralabial and infralabial scales were counted from the by Luu et al. (2016a: 132), this new species exhibits a largest scale immediately posterior to the dorsal inflection of maximum adult SVL comprised between 73.0 and 100.6 mm, the posterior portion of the upper jaw to the rostral and mental 0 or 1 supranasal, a DorTub (14–18) between 10 and 24, no scales, respectively; the number of longitudinal rows of body webbing between fingers or toes, tubercles nearly absent on tubercles was counted transversely across the center of the forelimbs but present on hind limbs, precloacal and femoral dorsum from one ventrolateral skin fold to the other; the number pores in males (in total 47) between 20 and 60, number of longitudinal rows of ventral scales was counted transversely of postcloacal tubercles (5 or 6 in male) between 3 and 8, across the center of the abdomen from one ventrolateral skin enlarged subcaudals, and dorsum displaying well-defined dark fold to the other; subdigital lamellae beneath the toes were bands. counted from the base of the first phalanx to the claw; dorsal MATERIALS AND METHODS dark bands between limb insertions are those strictly contained on the dorsum between the posterior insertion of the anterior Sampling limbs and the anterior insertion of the posterior limbs. In Field surveys were conducted in Xiangkhoang Province, previous literature, dorsal bands often include those contained Laos, from May to July 2008 within the frameworks of the between the anterior insertion point of the anterior limbs and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the Academic and the posterior point of insertion of the posterior limbs, thus Scientific Cooperation between the National University of Laos interspecific comparisons on band numbers were performed and Kaluga State University, Russia (MOU No. 72 20-11-2012). with caution. Specimens were collected by hand from 1900 h to 2300 The following measurements were taken with a digital caliper h. Specimens were photographed in life and subsequently to the nearest 0.1 mm: AG: axilla to groin length, taken from euthanized in a closed vessel with a piece of cotton wool the posterior margin of the forelimb at its insertion point on the containing ethyl acetate (Simmons, 2002). Tissue samples body to the anterior margin of the hind limb at its insertion were preserved separately in 95% ethanol and specimens point on the body; EarL: ear length, the greatest horizontal were fixed in 85% ethanol, after which they were transferred distance of the ear opening; ForeaL: forearm length, taken to 70% ethanol for permanent storage. Specimens were on the dorsal surface from the posterior margin of the elbow subsequently deposited in the herpetological collection of the while flexed 90◦ to the inflection of the flexed wrist; HeadH: Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science (ZISP) head height, the maximum height of head from the occiput and in the herpetological collection of the Zoological Museum to the throat; HeadL: head length, from the posterior margin of Lomonosov Moscow State University (ZMMU), Moscow, of the retroarticular process of the lower jaw to the tip of the Russia. snout; HeadW: head width, measured at the angle of the jaws; The specimens accessed for molecular analyses are Internar: internarial distance, measured between the nares listed in Table 1. Our sampling is to date the most across the rostrum; Interorb: interorbital distance, measured comprehensive sampling covering all known lineages of the C. between the anterior edges of the orbits; ML: mental length, phongnhakebangensis species complex. A map showing the the maximum length of mental shield; MW: mental width, the distribution of the C. phongnhakebangensis species complex maximum width of mental shield; NosOrb: nostril to orbit in Laos and adjacent territories and the location of the distance, from the posterior margin of the external nares to the sampling site for the present work is provided in Figure anterior margin of the orbit; OrbD: orbit diameter, the greatest 1. Museum abbreviations used are listed as follows: CAS: horizontal diameter of the orbit; OrbEar: orbit to ear distance, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco; CUMZ from the anterior edge of the ear opening to the posterior edge R: Chulalongkorn University Museum of Zoology (Reptiles), of the orbit; RH: rostral height, the maximum height of the Bangkok; IRSNB: Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles rostral shield; RW: rostral width, the distance between border de Belgique, Brussels; KZM: Khorat Zoo Museum, Nakhon of rostral shield and the first supralabial scales on right and Ratchasima; MNHN: Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, left sides; SnOrb: snout to orbit distance, from the tip of the Paris; PSUZC-RT: Prince of Songkhla University Zoological snout to the anteriormost margin of the orbit; SVL: snout-vent Collection, Reptile Section, Songkhla; QSMI: Queen Saovabha length, taken from the tip of snout to the vent; TailL: tail length, Memorial Institute, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok; THNHM: taken from the vent to the tip of the tail, original or regenerated; Thailand Natural History Museum,
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